Rediscovering heritage: Kot Diji’s missing artillery resurfaces

Kot Diji Fort accommodates 500 soldiers and 100 cannons, all overseen by a commanding officer

KARACHI:

The Sindh Culture Department has successfully located six missing cannons from Kot Diji, a historic fort of the Talpur rulers. The cannons were missing for almost 30 years.

The phased return of these artefacts is underway, with two cannons already retrieved from the Khairpur Police Line.

The Culture Department's determined efforts unveiled the locations of the other cannons in sites like the Deputy Commissioner House, Maryam Chowk, and Babbarlo police station in Khairpur.

IG Police Sindh, Rifat Mukhtar Raja, promptly ordered the return of the cannons, with two already in the custody of the Culture Department for renovation before reinstatement in the fort. Caretaker Culture Minister Sindh, Dr Junaid Ali Shah, expressed gratitude to IG Sindh for facilitating the return, emphasising the importance of preserving historic sites as national assets.

Mir Sohrab Khan Talpur, the founding ruler of Khairpur state, initiated the fort's construction in 1785, named initially Ahmedabad Fort and later known as Kot Diji. Crafted by Iranian architects, this historic fort, standing at an elevation of 70 feet and stretching 5,000 feet in length and 3,000 feet in width (covering 85,730 square meters), features walls made of bricks fortified against the mountains. Designed for defence and administration, Kot Diji Fort accommodated 500 soldiers and 100 cannons, all overseen by a commanding officer.

The recent recovery of missing cannons adds to the historical significance of this landmark.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2023.